Figgy Cookies

Oh, they’re not like your familiar Newtons with an abundant filling of sticky fig paste. Nope, instead the dried figs in these cookies are ground up and incorporated into the cookie dough, itself.

As a result, the figs take on a more subtle quality, especially when mixed with ground pecans.

The recipe is from “The Gourmet Cookie Book” (Houghton Mifflin), of which I received a review copy last year. The book features the now defunct magazine’s best cookie recipe of each year from 1941-2009. These “Fig Cookies” hark back to 1964. A true oldie but goodie.

These cookies are barely sweet, with a crumbly texture. They’d be marvelous alongside a glass of port or brandy or a mug of Chai tea especially at this brisk and festive time of year.

I can’t say that I’ve ever had a fig cookie, mostly because when I am craving dessert, chocolate is what I really want. However, I love the sound of the flavors in this. I bet they would work really well translated into biscotti as well and if the sugar was reduced, could even be a nice accompaniment to a cheese plate.

BTW – I think the sugar quantity might be missing from the ingredients.

I just made these (thanks for adding the amount of sugar! I was starting to panic as I’d already softened the butter and so on. Whew. Glad to see the update.) I didn’t have figs handy, but did have dried dates, so substituted those. And used gluten-free flour, plus 2 tsp. xantham gum to hold them together. They are yummy. I’ll try figs next time. I took some to my neighbor.

I love the blog title for this post, sounds really fun. Don’t you just love figs? I love your recipe. Figs have a very distinct and comforting flavor. I love munching on fig cookies with a hot cup of tea.